Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1183432
34 NOV. 16, 2019 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED NOTRE DAME RUNNING GAME VS. NAVY RUN DEFENSE Because of its size advantage along the line of scrimmage, Notre Dame should be expected to dominate this category. But injuries to senior guard Tommy Kraemer (knee) and junior tackle Robert Hainsey (ankle) have sidelined both starters on the right side of the Irish offensive line — likely for the rest of this season — which won't help a Notre Dame run game that has already statistically underachieved this season. Chronically plagued by injuries to its running backs, the Irish rank only 72nd in the nation in rushing offense with an average of 160.9 yards per game heading into the second weekend of November. Meanwhile, the Navy rush defense has been surprisingly stingy this year, ranking 16th in the country with an average of only 109.4 yards al- lowed per contest. This year, the Midshipmen have a unit that fea- tures much larger players than what Navy typically fields defensively. Sophomore Mike linebacker Diego Fagot (6-3, 240) leads the team with 59 total stops, while senior Nizaire Cromartie (6-2-237) has produced 7.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks among his 23 total stops. He has both forced and recov- ered two fumbles from Navy's Raider position. Advantage: Even NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. NAVY PASS DEFENSE Senior quarterback Ian Book continues to take heat from the Notre Dame faithful over his pocket poise and decision making — expect that to go on the rest of this season — and this matchup with Navy will bring some added pressure to play better than he has to date. After posting the worst game of his Irish career (8-of-25 passing for 73 yards) at Michigan Oct. 26, Book bounced back to complete 29 of 53 throws for 341 yards with two scores and two intercep- tions in the 21-20 victory versus Virginia Tech Nov. 2. He also rushed for a team-high 50 yards and the game-winning touchdown with just 29 seconds remaining in the game. Navy's mission is to dominate the time of posses- sion battle by quickly getting opposing offenses off the field. Book's ability to convert his third-down chances will be more important against the Mid- shipmen than any other Irish opponent all season. Through eight games, the Fighting Irish ranked just 72nd nationally in third-down conversion rate (39.3 percent). Navy has been terrific at controlling opposing quarterbacks and accomplishing its mission on these important down-and-distance situations. The Midshipmen ranked 23rd in the land in third- down defense by limiting opposing offenses to a 32.5-percent conversion rate. The Midshipmen also allow only 201.3 passing yards per game, which rated 39th in the country through games played Nov. 2. Advantage: Notre Dame SPECIAL TEAMS Nothing jumps off the stat page when it comes to either of these team's punt or kickoff return units, with each one ranking in the middle of the pack nationally. Senior punter Owen White is the special teams highlight for Navy. His 44.6-yard average has kept the Midshipmen in the nation's top 10 all season in net punting. White has six punts of at least 50 yards and 13 of his kicks have been downed inside the 20-yard line. Irish freshman punter Jay Bramblett has similar numbers with five kicks of more than 50 yards and 13 of his punts downed inside the 20-yard line. He has also done a terrific job as the holder for Irish junior placekicker Jonathan Doerer. Bramblett's clutch work fielding a low snap against Virginia Tech helped Doerer kick the game- winning extra point in a 21-20 win. Advantage: Even COACHING Since losing to Navy during its miserable 4-8 season in 2016, Notre Dame and head coach Brian Kelly have won three straight in this series, though rarely do these wins come easily. Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo also beat the Irish in 2010 during Kelly's first season. If the current rankings hold up, this will mark the first meeting between the two schools when both were ranked since 1978 when No. 15 Notre Dame knocked off No. 11 Navy. Kelly has led his Irish to 16 consecutive wins at home, the third-longest home winning streak since Notre Dame Stadium opened in 1930. Niumatalolo brings his team to town on a five- game winning streak and off a bye week. Advantage: Even INTANGIBLES In eight games (480 minutes) this season, Navy has trailed only 39 minutes total, and it has not trailed in the last 225 minutes, or almost four full games. And when Navy cracked the top 25 at the begin- ning of November, it marked the fourth time in the last five years the Midshipmen found their way into the poll (2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019). After going 3-10 last season, 2019 is serving as a bounce-back year for Navy, much like 2017 did for GAME PREVIEW: NAVY Offense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. WR 83 Chase Claypool 6-4½ 229 Sr. 88 Javon McKinley 6-2 220 Sr. WR 10 Chris Finke 5-9½ 184 5th-Sr. 13 Lawrence Keys III 5-10½ 173 So. LT 74 Liam Eichenberg 6-6 305 Sr. 73 Andrew Kristofic 6-5 280 Fr. LG 69 Aaron Banks 6-6 325 Jr. 76 Dillan Gibbons 6-4 305 Jr. C 55 Jarrett Patterson 6-5 300 So. 61 Colin Grunhard 6-0½ 289 Jr. RG 57 Trevor Ruhland 6-3½ 292 5th-Sr. 56 John Dirksen 6-5½ 309 So. RT 75 Joshua Lugg 6-7 307 Jr. 60 Cole Mabry 6-5 286 So. TE 84 Cole Kmet 6-5½ 250 Jr. 89 Brock Wright 6-4½ 246 Jr. or 24 Tommy Tremble 6-3½ 235 So. WR 25 Braden Lenzy 5-11½ 180 So. 18 Joe Wilkins 6-1½ 194 So. QB 12 Ian Book 6-0 212 Sr. 15 Phil Jurkovec 6-4½ 227 So. RB 6 Tony Jones Jr. 5-11 224 Sr. or 8 Jafar Armstrong 6-0½ 220 Jr. Defense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. DE 42 Julian Okwara 6-4½ 248 Sr. 44 Jamir Jones 6-3 255 Sr. DT 95 M. Tagovailoa-Amosa 6-2½ 286 Jr. 57 Jayson Ademilola 6-3 279 So. NG 41 Kurt Hinish 6-2 295 Jr. 54 Jacob Lacey 6-2 293 Fr. DE 53 Khalid Kareem 6-4 265 Sr. 91 Ade Ogundeji 6-4½ 253 Sr. Buck 22 Asmar Bilal 6-2 225 5th-Sr. 33 Shayne Simon 6-3 232 So. Mike 40 Drew White 6-0 230 Jr. 52 Bo Bauer 6-3 230 So. Rover 6 J. Owusu-Koramoah 6-1½ 216 Jr. 13 Paul Moala 5-11½ 216 So. CB 5 Troy Pride Jr. 5-11½ 194 Sr. 20 Shaun Crawford 5-9 180 5th-Sr. S 11 Alohi Gilman 5-10½ 201 Sr. 14 Kyle Hamilton 6-4 210 Fr. S 21 Jalen Elliott 6-0½ 210 Sr. 3 Houston Griffith 6-0 198 So. CB 8 Donte Vaughn 6-3 212 Sr. or 28 TaRiq Bracy 5-10 170 So. NOTRE DAME DEPTH CHART Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. KO 39 Jonathan Doerer 6-3 23 Jr. 98 Harrison Leonard 5-10 203 Fr. PK 39 Jonathan Doerer 6-3 203 Jr. 98 Harrison Leonard 5-10 203 Fr. P 19 Jay Bramblett 6-1 188 Fr. 98 Harrison Leonard 5-10 203 Fr. LS 54 John Shannon 6-2 225 Sr. 65 Michael Vinson 6-2 224 So. Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. H 19 Jay Bramblett 6-1 188 Fr. 17 Nolan Henry 6-0 193 5th-Sr. PR 10 Chris Finke 5-9½ 184 5th-Sr. 11 Alohi Gilman 5-10½ 201 Sr. KR 13 Lawrence Keys III 5-10½ 173 So. 18 Joe Wilkins 6-1½ 194 So. Special Teams